Today, computers are owned by millions of consumers across the globe, but the computer could not have gained commercial success without the efforts of several scientists in the early 20th century.  Inventors in the Germany and the United Kingdom developed early versions of computers in the early 1940s, but the first successful electronic computer was born in the United States.

On this day, May 17th, in 1943, the U.S. army partnered with the University of Pennsylvania’s Moor School to create ENIAC, the world’s first general-purpose electronic computer.  ENIAC was designed by John Muachly and J. Presper Eckert of Moor’s School of Electrical Engineering.  ENIAC was built in secret, code named Project PX, and completed with announcement to the public by February of 1946.  The computer, which was referred to as a “Giant Brain,” was designed as a tool for the U.S. Army to calculate artillery firing tables, but could solve a full range of computing problems.

ENIAC was granted a patent in 1964, but the ruling was overturned in 1973 as the invention of the computer was declared public domain.  Regardless of the patent decision, ENIAC was a major accomplishment in the computer industry.  ENIAC’s original panels are currently displayed in major locations throughout the world, including: the National Museum of American History, The Science Museum in London, and the Computer History Museum.